Death of a Gunman
by Lealah Lupin III
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Jigen is betrayed to the mob and is shot and killed. How will Lupin and Co. handle this? Lealah seems to be taking it especially hard...Why? Read and find out! More to come soon. Chapter 4 up
1. Jigen! No!

Death of a Gunman  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Lupin III except Lealah. I wish I did though.  
  
Note: If you want to know why Jigen calls her Mitsukia, read chapter four of "A Pack of Two Wolves"  
  
"Die, Diasuke Jigen!" POW! Jigen felt the bullet penetrate his chest. Immediately pain overcame him. He had been shot before, yes, but never like this. Never in cold blood. Every time he had been shot, it had always been in a shoot out. It wasn't supposed happen like this. This was going to be an easy job. What happened? How'd they find me? Are Lealah and Lupin and Goemon OK? Lupin had the brilliant idea that stealing the Shroud of Turin would be a snap. It would have been too. If not for the American Mafia's best hitman, Roger Hamilton. Wait, something was wrong. The bullet had hit him on the left side of his chest, but his heart was slowly beginning to stop. His breathing became hard and labored. "How do you like our new bullets, Diasuke? When they hit, they release a slow poison that stops your heart and paralyses your breathing. But, I will go against orders and take you out now. Consider it a compliment, Old Friend. I was told to let you die slow and painfully. Good bye." It was too much. The pain was just too much. Jigen sunk to his knees, clutching his chest. He shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. POW! Roger fell forward, dead. Jigen had just enough strength to rise to see who it was. "Come on Jigen, Lupin is waiting for us outside. Lucky for you I came, huh? Right after the bastard finished talking. Jigen, what's wrong?" He fell to his knees once again, then fell backwards. "JIGEN!" Lealah ran to his side. "What happened?" As she put her right hand under his head, her left hand brushed up against his chest. She jerked it away when she felt something wet and thick on his jacket. Lealah knew what it was before she even looked. She stared at her bloodstained hand for a second and then jerked open his jacket. Blood soaked his whitish-blue button up. A bullet was lodged in his chest. "NO!" Lealah dug into Jigens' chest and fished it out. He grinned at her, a small ghost of a grin while his eyelids began to drop. "Should'a just let him take me. Would have been quicker. He was from the mob. They never do anything quick unless they have respect for you" Tears began forming in the eyes of his best friends sister. "No. We can get you to a hospital. You won't." Her voice was a mixture of fear and sorrowful defiance. "Don't.kid.yourself. I. wouldn't make it. if I was shot.in a hospital." His voice was fading fast. "I'm dying, Kid." "Jigen, no! I couldn't go on without you." His reply was barely a whisper. "Lealah.tell Lupin.I'm sorry I won't be there. Tell him.my real name.Daniel.Jarrod. "Jigen, don't die please!" He gave her one last weak smile. "Later, Mitsukia." His eyes dropped completely and his face became expressionless. "Jigen? Jigen?" She touched her fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse. He was gone. She began to cry. "No.Jigen." Lealah lifted the older man to her in a hug. Blood from his wound started to transfer to her, but she didn't care. His black fedora fell from his head. Usually he would have made a move to retrieve it. Not this time. He was dead. She gently laid him down, placed the fedora he had given her so long ago on his chest, and bowed her head in reverence. "Lealah? Come on, let's get going! Tell Jigen to get up, Pops is on his way!" Lupin III had just popped his head in to tell his sister and friend to start moving. Tears streaming from her eyes, blood all down her front, she turned to her brother. "He can't get up, Lupin." "What, was he shot in the leg? Help him!" Lealah sucked in a deep breath. She had no idea how Lupin would take this news. "Lupin, he was shot. But not in the leg. He was shot." As her voice faltered, he noticed the blood covering her and the way Jigen was lying. He blanched. "Jigen? Oh my God, Jigen! What happened?!" "That guy shot him. Right before he was about to shoot him again I came in and killed him. Not Jigen, the guy! Jigen told me to tell you he's sorry he won't be there and goodbye." Lupin dropped to his knees beside the man he had known as long as he could remember. He did not cry on the outside, but inside a war was being waged. "Lealah, search that guys pockets. Find out who he is, and who hired him." Still crying, she told him what Jigen had told her. "Jigen said he was from the mob. What do you mean who hired him?" Lupin became angry at this. It was odd for him to be mad at her for a simple mistake like not knowing how he knew someone hired the guy. "You moron, use your brain! How would someone from the mob know we were here? Someone sold us out! Don't be stupid!" She stared at him, fully appreciating his sorrow for the first time. He had never snapped at her like that before this. She nodded and began to search his pockets. She found a letter inside his jacket. "His name is Roger Hamilton and the person who sent him was." Something inside her brain snapped. The shock of finding out who betrayed them was too much for her emotionally distraught mind. The letter fluttered to the ground. She stood there with her eyes wide open. Lupin was immediately sorry he yelled at her. He picked up the piece of paper and read it. He couldn't believe it. "Lealah, help me get Jigen to the car." He picked up the gun that Hamilton had shot out of Jigens' hand and the fedora that had fallen from his head. Lealahs' expression didn't change, nor did she say anything. All she did was pick up Jigens' feet, while Lupin got his shoulders, tears still streaming from her wide eyes. They carried him out of the small utility room where he had been killed to the slightly larger utility van Lupin and his co. had come in. Goemon was waiting for them inside. As soon as they walked in, he saw Jigen. "Lupin, what happened to Jigen? Is he.?" Lupin handed him the piece of paper. After Goemon had read it, he bowed his head and said, "Diasuke Jigen is with his ancestors now." Lealah had laid him out on the floor of the van, spread to full height with his hands on his chest. Then she curled up into a fetal position beside him and started sobbing while her brother and friend looked on pitiably. 


	2. The Funeral

Chapter 2:The Funeral  
  
Three days later, Lupin, Lealah, and Goemon were outside in a graveyard. Jigens' funeral had just ended, and it being an open casket funeral, everyone had gathered around to say one last goodbye to their friend. Lealah went up to the casket and peered in. She was half expecting Jigen to sit up and say, "Damn it Lupin, why'd you let me get shot?" He didn't. He just lied there in the coffin, looking uncharacteristically peaceful. They say the dead look like they're sleeping. Yeah, right. Jigen never looked like that in his entire life. He was always alert, even in his sleep. Oh, Jigen, if only I had come 30 seconds earlier. Tears began to well up in her eyes, so she turned to leave. As she turned, she ran right into Inspector Koichi Zenigata.  
"Hi there, Lealah. Where's your brother?" "Wouldn't you like to know." He noticed the tears in her eyes. I thought this was just a hoax to make fun of me. What if someone really did die? Nah, can't be. The guy's evil. "So, who died?" Lealah had been shutting up her anger and most of her sorrow for three days now. She couldn't hold it in any longer. "What do you care, you evil son of a bitch? All you care about is capturing Lupin, even when he's going to his friends' funeral! You make me absolutely sick, you bastard!" She ran to her brother and buried her face in his shoulder and began sobbing again. Lupin gave Zenigata a look he had never seen on Lupins' face before. A look of deep sadness and regret. "Not today, Pops. Please." Zenigata let Lupin lead is sobbing sister away. As he looked around he noticed something strange. Lupin, Lealah, and Goemon were there, but Jigen wasn't. Jigen never went anywhere without Lupin. A feeling of dread welled up inside the inspector. He walked over to the coffin and looked in. Zenigata couldn't believe it. This can't be the great Diasuke Jigen. No friggen way. He leaned over and felt the mans' pulse. He also gave the guys' face a tug. Can't be too careful. Finally satisfied that this was Diasuke Jigen, Zenigata lowered his hat in respect. He could have kicked himself. It wasn't a trick. Lupin is mourning the death of his best friend. He stayed long after everyone had left. Then he bent over the dead man and stated " Rest in peace. Rest in peace." Finally, Inspector Zenigata closed the casket and left. The gravediggers had long since gone home, so the burial would have to wait until tomorrow. What old Pops didn't notice as he left was Jigens' chest rise in a breath. The coffin was closed, how could he? One hour later, it was after dark. Jigens' breathing became regular and his heartbeat strong. As he opened his eyes, he vaguely wondered where he was. Pain still coursed through his chest, but he was alive! After twenty minutes, he had fully woke. Where the hell am I? It looks almost like.oh, shit, I thought I died! I'm in a coffin! He reached into his pocket not expecting to find anything, but instead finding his gun. Thank you, Lealah! He knew she would have wanted him buried with his gun. He cocked it and began shooting his way out. As soon as he had gotten out, he began walking through the roads, blood pouring from his chest. Gotta find Lupin. 


	3. The Return of Diasuke Jigen

Chapter 3 Return of Diasuke Jigen  
That same night, Lupin and Goemon sat at their table at their hideout in Tokyo, reminiscing about their old friend.  
"Remember the time I had been drugged in that castle by those girls, and you and Jigen had to come rescue me?" Lupin remembered that time well. "Don't pay him any attention, it's just his time of the month." When Lupin had said that, Jigen had gotten royally pissed and walked out. It was so easy to be sorry for all the things he had done against him now that he was dead. "Twenty-twenty hindsight," Lupin muttered beneath his breath.  
"Do you remember when he almost shot Lealah right before we had to rescue you from jail? It was funny, because earlier that day she had posed to be Jigens' daughter. You should have seen his face when she kneed Zenigata." Jigen arrived at the apartment at right that time, muddy and wet because it was raining, and weak from loss of blood. When he heard his friends talking about him, he decided to see what they had to say. You only got a chance like this once in a lifetime, maybe never. So he stood just outside the door with his ear pressed against it. "Speaking of Lealah, how is she doing? I haven't seen her since the funeral." Remembering how she had acted before he "died" he listened closely.  
"Well, I slipped her some Valium in a soda, so right now she's asleep. She's taking it very hard. She thinks it's her fault. And after running into Pops, she feels worse than ever. Even he took his hat off." Goemon nodded.  
"I don't blame her. Wouldn't you take it this hard if you were in her position?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I have long since had a suspicion that Lealah Lupin III had a crush on Jigen. That's why she is taking it so hard. Not to mention the fact that he died in her arms." Jigens' mouth fell open. Lealah had a crush on him? He couldn't believe it. She never showed anything that would suggest.  
"What the hell do you mean she had a crush on Jigen?"  
"Haven't you noticed that she cherished that hat he gave her, even before he died? And that time he almost shot her, if that had been you or me that almost killed her, she would have stayed afraid of us. She has told me as much. I even found some archives she made about our jobs. They are filled with all of us, yes, but one name stands out. On her last paper she wrote 'I think I like Jigen. He has been so kind to me, almost like a father, and from what Arsène tells me, he's not much of a fatherfigure. I don't know, but I think I really like him.'" By the time Goemon had finished his explanation, both Lupin and Jigens' eyes were as wide and as round as tennis balls. Someone actually has a crush on me? Jigen thought. She's 21 years younger than me, what the hell's she thinking? Just before he walked in the door, He heard Lupin say,  
"It's almost like she's a schoolgirl that has a crush on a teacher. But now that she's going into high school, she can't see him anymore. Poor, poor Lealah." With that, Jigen grabbed the doorknob and flung it open. He had never been one for dramatic entrances, but even he had to love the lightning that flashed behind him just a few seconds before a crash of thunder sounded.  
"Who the he-JIGEN!" Lupin had been sitting at the table facing to the door, so he was the first to see his presumably dead friend.  
"You are hallucinating my friend, Jigen is dead." Goemon was facing away from the door, so he had not seen who had walked in.  
"The hell I am, Goemon." Goemon turned his head to the door in disbelief, trying to see if this was his friend.  
"Jigen! Is that really you?" Jigen had to sit through twenty minutes of being poked and pulled before he could finally convince the two it was really him. Lupin was absolutely astonished.  
"How did you survive? Did you shoot your way out of the coffin?" Then he realized something. "Buddy, how long were you at that door before you actually came in?"  
"The whole time," he said quietly. "And as for your questions, I was going to tell all of you at once." Lupin nodded and sat down.  
"She's in her room, and don't bother, we'll drill it out of her." As Jigen entered her room, he noticed she had fallen asleep holding his fedora. He could tell it was his and not hers because hers was tattered and folded from being put in her pocket. Plus, hers had a hole through it, courtesy of Inspector Zenigata. He sat beside her on the bed and shook her awake.  
"Wha." As soon as she saw Jigen, Lealahs' eyes brightened and then dimmed.  
"What's the matter? I thought you'd be a little happier to see me," he said casually. She smiled up at him sadly.  
"I would, if this wasn't just all a dream. I knew that soda tasted funny. What'd Lupin put in it?"  
"Valium, but this isn't a dream. Pinch yourself. Hell, pinch me! Do what it takes to convince yourself it's really me and this isn't a dream." Confused, Lealah punched herself in the arm.  
"Hey, that hurt! JIGEN!" She grabbed him into a hug to see if he was real. He winced in pain. She gave him a furtive look and the noticed the blood on his jacket. "You still haven't patched yourself up? Hang on." She went into the bathroom that was connected to her room. "Take off your shirt." Jigen was shocked. Man, she did have a crush on him.  
"What? Why?" When she came out she was holding a bundle of ace bandages.  
"Well, would you like me to wrap your shirt and jacket to you for however long it takes for that gunshot to heal?"  
"Oh, uh, no." He quickly slid out of his jacket and shirt.  
"Let's see, it'll have to go over your right shoulder or it won't wrap right."  
"No offense, but can't Lupin wrap a bandage?" She rolled her eyes at his question.  
"Oh please. Sure, around a leg or arm, but anything bigger than that and he's lost. Once when I was five, I busted my chin while playing baseball. It took the doctors twenty minutes to resuscitate me from suffocation. No joke. If you bring it up, Lupin will get mad at me though. So Jigen, how did you survive? I mean that bullet hit you in the heart, and neither Pops or I felt your pulse." He winced again as she pulled the bandage tight.  
"Well, I wear this suit for more than just blending in. The material it's made of helps stop bullets, but not very well. I guess it didn't hit my heart. But you said my heart stopped?"  
"I didn't feel it, and neither did Inspector I'm-Gonna-Catch-You- Lupin." He thought for a minute.  
"Can you live if your heart beats only a few times a minute? Roger said the bullets poison you so your heart and breathing stop. You pulled it out of me before it could work correctly, so it just stopped it some of the time. Lucky me, huh? I still want to know how they found me." Lealah got a sour look on her face.  
"I'm done. We found this in Rogers pocket." She handed him the piece of paper. It read: Dear Roger,  
Hi there, lover. Long time no see. I have a job for you, and you'll get money out of it. Diasuke Jigen will be at the Church of Holy Saints at 3:00 am on the 28th. I will give you double what your Mafia boss gives you to shoot and kill him with the bullet I have enclosed. I know you have been looking for him for a while so this will be good for both of us. He has been getting in my way too much lately. Meet me at 182 Kokomo Street at 12:00 p.m. on the 30th for your pay off. Love, Fujiko Mine P.S. Make it slow and painful.  
As he finished reading, his face turned stark white and the red.  
"That traitorous little bitch. Does Lupin know?"  
"Yeah. He is coming up with a plan to get her back. His exact words were 'I don't care how many times she betrays me, but now she's gone too far.'"  
"Tell that friggen brother of yours that this is my battle and to stay the hell away. I don't trust him when Fujiko's involved." He stood up to leave.  
"At least stay here the night. You were shot and you lost a lot of blood." He realized how weak he felt.  
"Fine, but after tonight, I'm going to find her! I'll get that bitch!" With that Jigen stalked off to his room without one word to either Lupin or Goemon.  
"Wow, he's pissed," Lupin said amazed.  
"Yes, but he is taking it better than I thought he would," Goemon returned. 


	4. So, Your Not

Chapter 4 The Fight  
  
Lealah stared after him for a moment. What did he mean this was his battle? Why didn't he want Lupin to go with him? She shrugged as she began to walk into the kitchen He's probably just shaken up from waking up in a coffin. He'll be OK tomorrow, after some real sleep. He'll come around in the morning. As soon as she stepped foot into the kitchen, she was met by her brother and Goemon.  
  
"Hey! How are you? How is he?" Lupin questioned her.  
  
"I'm fine and hungry. He's just weak and tired and shaken up," she answered.  
  
"That is an improvement from the last three days. Have you eaten anything since Jigen was shot?" Goemon walked over to the refrigerator and picked out something. "Eat this."  
  
"This isn't the soup made out of pregnant earthworms, is it?" she asked suspiciously. He grinned at her.  
  
"No, it's actually chicken noodle soup. Ji-Rutou is to cure fever."  
  
"Good." She began drinking the soup. Lupin walked over and sat beside her at the table.  
  
"So, what did he say?"  
  
"It was Hamilton that shot him and he's pissed at Fujiko. What more do you want?" He thought about asking her how he was alive, but decided against it at the tired look on her face.  
  
"You should really get some sleep. You look like crap."  
  
"Thanks a lot, Brother. Can I at least have some coke that you didn't spike before I do?" She looked warily at him.  
  
"Oh, you found out about that! Sure." He went over to the refrigerator and poured a glass of Coca-Cola. When he returned with the glass, he found her asleep on the table. "Goemon, you didn't put anything in that soup, did you?"  
  
"No, I didn't, Lupin." He nodded, picked her up, and set her on the couch.  
  
"Jigen can have his privacy tonight. You can sleep in Lealahs' bed, Goemon," he told him as he walked to his room. "I'm turning in now."  
  
"I suppose I will to," Goemon said while standing up. They both walked into the room and shut the door behind him.  
  
*****  
  
Jigen woke a little before dawn. The previous night he had decided he would leave for this pay-off place before any of his comrades were up. He wasn't going to drag the three of them into his business, and like he said, he didn't trust Lupin when Fujiko was involved. After he got dressed he grabbed his gun and began walking out to the car. There was no sign of anyone in the room; the chairs were pushed under the table, the bathroom door was open with the lights off, the couch was empty. As he walked by the fridge he grabbed out a bagel and began to eat it. His chest still hurt a little, but he ignored that. He grabbed the keys to his '54 Ford and walked out of the door. Lupins' own Mercedes Benz was his pride and joy, but Jigen liked a less conspicuous car.  
  
After he had been on the road for about an hour, some car that looked like it came out of bad 30's Private I movie began to tail him. At first he didn't really care, it could just be a coincidence, but after about 15 minutes of being followed, he decided to try and loose it. With an ear- shattering screech, he turned down a dark street unexpectedly. The other car made the same turn and came up beside him. The car began to ram him, trying to force him off the road. Jigen tried to swerve away, but to no avail. The car just kept trying to ram him. Finally, the man in the 30's car pulled out an automatic and began shooting at him. "What the hell?!" Jigen yelled as he put his foot down on the gas, hoping to out speed the other guy. The other car rammed him again. This time, he was going too fast, and lost control of his car and drove it strait into a ditch. The other car, satisfied its work was done, sped away. Jigen slammed his fist down on the steering wheel. "Dammit, what the hell was that?! I thought everyone thought I was dead!" He stopped as he heard a strange bumping noise coming from the backseat. He quickly pulled out his gun and aimed it where the noises were coming from. Suddenly, the seat cushions began to lift, and he heard someone say,  
  
"Jeez, Jigen, you really need to learn how to drive! Hey, point that at someone else, don't you remember the last time you did that? I was scared of you for the rest of the night!" Lealah emerged from under the cushions. Jigen stared at her, amazed. Then, he remembered that he was supposed to be royally pissed at this.  
  
"What the friggen hell do you think you're doing?! You could have been killed! Didn't you hear me say I didn't want your help?!" he yelled at her.  
  
"No, I remember you saying you didn't want Lupins' help. You never said anything about me or Goemon."  
  
"Did Lupin send you?" he asked, suddenly getting the notion.  
  
"Yeah, Jigen, my brother told me to hide under the seat of a '54 Ford, where I could be shot and god know what else, so I could follow you to someplace and report where you were with a hidden radio in my back pocket so he can come and stop you from killing the person who set you up because it happens to be his girlfriend. No you moron, he didn't send me, he has no idea I'm here right now," Lealah said sarcastically. "Jeez, your not that dense are you?"  
  
"Hey, you have some nerve calling me dense! Look at what all you did tonight!"  
  
"I did this to help you! You need someone to keep tabs on your ass and you know it! Look what happened last time, you were almost killed!" she yelled back. Jigen became angrier at this, partly because he knew it to be true, partly because a 15-year-old girl was saying it to him.  
  
"You should know about getting out of tight spots, I've gotten you out of quite a lot, if memory serves! The only reason you're standing here right now is because that damn brother of yours, me and Goemon have saved your worthless ass more times than anyone can count!"  
  
"How dare you call me worthless?! The only reason you're alive is because I dug that bullet out of your chest! If I had come in 2 seconds later, the morgue would have had to piece together your skull. Not to mention, if I hadn't told Lupin to, he wouldn't have put you in that casket with your gun! It's not my fault that bitch betrayed you, and it's not my fault the damn mob's out to get you! Excuse me, it's not my fault the mob got you!" Jigens eyes widened at the end of this sentence. He knew she was right, but God forbid him ever admitting it.  
  
"Go to hell! You can just walk your ass right back home for all I care!" He turned his back on her.  
  
"Fine, I will!" She began walking down the road. He stared after her for a minute, and then pulled some papers from the inside of his coat pocket. He had found the "archives" Goemon had been talking about on his bed, and for some reason had put them in his pocket. He skimmed over the part about him, then put them back in his pocket and began to try to get his car out of the ditch, muttering curses at anyone and everyone he ever knew. It took him nearly an hour to get his car back on the road.  
  
"Damn. . . I know she's right. . . without her I'd be dead. . . but she shouldn't have done that. . . man, I need to apologize. . ." Just then he remembered something. Lealah had walked off the wrong way. She wasn't headed home and she had no clue! After about thirty minutes he saw her trudging down the road. As he pulled up beside her he yelled "Hey, Kid, you're going the wrong way! Need a lift?" When she looked up he could tell she had been crying.  
  
"I don't need your help! Leave me alone!"  
  
"Look Kid, I'm sorry. You shouldn't've hidden in the backseat of my car though! You could've been hurt."  
  
"Really? You're not still mad at me?"  
  
"Well, hell yeah I'm mad, but I can live with it. Get in, I don't have time to take you back home, so you'll just have to tag along." She jumped in the passengers' seat of his car.  
  
"OK. Hey, can I drive?" Jigen looked at her like she was crazy.  
  
"Don't push your luck." Lealah chuckled.  
  
"Just a joke." As they rode, Jigen couldn't get those papers out of his mind. The only thing he could think of to do was bring it up. But how would she act if she knew he knew? Only one way to find out.  
  
"Hey, Lealah, uh, Goemon found some papers of yours a while back." She looked at him, a little confused.  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"Well, it was the stuff you had written about some of our heists. It had this part in there about. . . well. . . you saying that you liked me." Lealah appeared completely clueless.  
  
"Huh?" He dug the papers out of his pocket.  
  
"Here, read this." As she read over the papers, her face turned bright red, and then she started laughing.  
  
"Oh, man, no wonder you were pissed at me! I'll kill Goemon! You think I'm in love with you?" Jigen became confused at this.  
  
"You're not?"  
  
"Sorry, but no. Remember how I had about 5 months of school right after all of you had trained me? Well, as an assignment, we had to write about what we did over the summer, but make it "fictional". We were supposed to change parts to make it seem a little crazy. Did you just read that one part?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You need to read the whole thing. In this paper, Lupin has a terminal disease, Fujiko is in love with Pops, and Goemon is the one that always betrays us."  
  
"Lemee see that!" He grabbed the papers from her. Sure enough, there was Lupin with MS, Fujiko dreaming about Zenigata, and Goemon selling them out. Thoroughly embarrassed, Jigen pushed his fedora down over his eyes. Lealah continued to laugh.  
  
"What was Goemon doing in my room anyway? These were in a drawer too!" Jigen looked over at her.  
  
"So, your not. . ."  
  
"Nope, sorry. I have a boyfriend in America, and he's the only one I dream about. No offence, but you're kind of old for me. Not to mention Lupin would probably kill us both."  
  
"Probably," he laughed. He felt a strange mixture of relieved and disappointed. It was kind of nice to think someone liked him, after he got over the age difference. He silently made a vow to give Goemon hell for this one, one thing he never thought he'd be doing.  
  
Whew, Lealah thought. Dodged that bullet. Good thing I put all that crap in that assignment, otherwise he might have found out. . . 


End file.
